In handling large commercial type drums it is often desirable to ship the containers on pallets and strap one or more of the containers to the pallet with conventional metal straps which are sealed at their adjoining ends to hold the drums in position. On occasion, with handling of large heavy drums during shipping operations, the straps have a tendency to slip particularly when the drums are tubular and cylindrical in configuration. Once the straps have partially slipped it is possible that they can come entirely loose from the drums in which case the drum would be free to fall from the pallets and be damaged or could possibly injure someone.
In general the types of drums under consideration are those which are sealed at the top and the bottom ends and the types which are sealed at the bottom end and have a removable cover on the top end which is normally held in tight interengagement with the drum by means of a conventional clamping ring such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,848.
In either case, the upper end seam of the drum of the sealed type and the outer surface of the clamping ring in the removable cover type have relatively smooth exterior surfaces which are not particularly helpful in retaining the strap in position when the drums are strapped to a pallet.
Accordingly, there is clearly room for improvement in the method of strapping the drums to the pallets and in particular in forming the drums and clamping ring structures with appropriate surfaces to facilitate holding the straps in position.